G A I A

The lull of the waves was the only thing one would hear upon walking across the beach. The glittering sand would be the only thing one would see along the sands, though now they were disturbed with theropodic footprints and a thin line between them, leading to a small thing of greens and browns and hibiscus pinks and yellows. It looked vaguely reptilian, small and thin, with wings of hibiscus and scales the color of a dappled forest floor. Coral eyes set gently into her long skull, long vine-whip tail swaying with a playful motion.

Leaf-like wings were folded gently at the small child's sides, cat-like paws prodding at a small shell she had found. She was not too big, only the size of a four-month-old kitten. Tiny nubs sat upon her skull as if mossy rocks on the forest floor. Young the child, 2 months old, without a mother or father to protect her.

G A I A

The harsh voice caused the dragonet to panic, spinning on her forelegs and turning to face Caesar. She appeared to shrink back, jaws opening to reveal the cotton white mouth she bore. But after a moment, she seemed to relax, but only a bit. Her jaws closed and she inched her head forward, sniffing at him while her tail buzzed against the sands. Lost? This child did not know this word. Lost?

"...lost..?" A hushed voice, barely a whisper above the waves.

To say Magnum wasn’t the best around kids was a gross understatement and a rather obvious one at that. The wolf’s fur would always stand on edge when the kids of the clan would run past him with reckless abandon all while saying some sort of....lingo or made up kid things that he always had to push it out of his mind before he began to overthink all of it. It made him all too glad that he hadn’t had kids with anyone he had run across and had a brief fling with over the past year. Being a father right now would only hold him back and most definitely time him down to this clan life he’d gotten cozy in. A loud and objective huff passed through his teeth as smoke drifted through the air, shaking off the subject with the gentle sea breeze that swept through his thick pelt as he walked about the island.

It wasn't until the sight of footprints that a dark grey eye peeked past his fedora with curiosity as he began to track down the set and the odd thin line that seemed to drag a long with it. Too small to be Medusa, that’s for damn sure. But, the sight of a certain jackass was definitely not what he was expecting either. Magnum was about to let a low growl surface as he walked to the side of Caesar, halting his action t simply gawk at this small child who seemed far too young to be here on her own. And from the looks of the savannah's face, it wasn’t his kid or something. Magnum cleared his voice and tried to recall every mother he had know in his life, as well as his old friends’ way of charming young kids with his eccentrics.

Like he had anything.

“Hey, darling. Is uh, your parents around? We don't want you getting lost out here, y’know?” His voice was riddled with insecurity for once as he leaned down ever so slightly to not loom over the kid quite as much. Hell, the canid even tipped his cap up and slicked his hair back as to not seem so odd looking, plus he knew eye contact could sometimes be comforting to the little ones. After all, this little one seemed like she might need it.

In comparison to both Caesar and Magnum, Rhinestone was far more acquainted with how to take care of kids. Although none of the children he currently took care of were his biological children, he still considered them to be his, and he loved them all greatly. They were his little family, and while he considered the Glades as a whole to be like family to him, he couldn't deny he had a soft spot for his children. Onyxpaw, Quasar, Tree, Foampaw... actually, he hadn't seen Foam in a while. Where was he? Rhine would've figured that he'd be enjoying his newfound freedom as an apprentice by going out to meet all of the new joiners firsthand. Yet, the serval hadn't seen him since the ceremony, and that was enough to set him on, his ears and pelt pricked as he explored the territory on his own. When he heard a young voice nearby as he approached the shore, he found a rush of excitement spread throughout his chest, and he sped up to make his way over. Unfortunately, when he arrived, he wasn't greeted by Foampaw, but instead by an unfamiliar face – seemingly a lost child.

The legate was disappointed that he hadn't found Foampaw, but his attention was pulled away from that issue by the presence of Gaia. It was obvious that the strange little child didn't know where she was, or what group's land she was on. Rhinestone supposed he was just glad that Gaia was on their lands, rather than the lands of a much more brutal group, like the Coalition. As he settled down beside Magnum, the tom shifted his paws a bit before he spoke, a worried frown on his muzzle, "Hello there, little one... like Magnum here said, we don't want you losing your way around here. Er – not knowing where you're going." It seemed he would need to explain what post was, taking into account how young Gaia seemingly was. He then motioned back with a paw towards the whole of the Glades's territory, trying to keep his voice calm and welcoming as he explained, "You're on the lands of the Palm Glades, just so you know. If you don't know where your family is, you can stay here for a while, until you can reunite with them." Or maybe she just didn't have a family at all. That thought made his chest ache, but it also wouldn't be entirely out of the ordinary for the island.

G A I A

The dragons turned her coral eyes to Magnum, completely disregarding Caesar for this new stranger. Parents? "Parents gone. Parents gone." She chirped softly, looking up at him before Rhinestonestar walked up.

Palm Glades? "Woah." The child felt she was missing something. Then it hit her. "Name Gaia!"